EWL Financial Planninghttp://ewl.com.au
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 01:35:30 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.3EWL Financial Advice: Happy people who live on nothing – Is it possible?http://ewl.com.au/ewl-financial-advice-happy-people-who-live-on-nothing-is-it-possible/
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 03:06:06 +0000http://ewl.com.au/?p=2812Is it possible to be happy while living on almost nothing day-to-day, or do you need extra income to spend on those frivolous items to keep yourself content? This question’s very difficult to analyse because opinion changes from person to person. Some people can live quite comfortably on nothing (think of Buddhist monks), while others ...

]]>Is it possible to be happy while living on almost nothing day-to-day, or do you need extra income to spend on those frivolous items to keep yourself content? This question’s very difficult to analyse because opinion changes from person to person. Some people can live quite comfortably on nothing (think of Buddhist monks), while others wouldn’t know how to live without their Louis Vuitton handbags, their Rolex watch or their Manolo Blahnik heels.

The happiest people are generally those who give more than they receive; however, you have probably just wondered ‘how does that work? You need money to be able to afford to give!’. My immediate answer to this is ‘well, giving doesn’t have to be done with items’, it can occur in a variety of different ways – time, energy and emotions, just to name a few. Giving in this manner can be the act that sparks some of the happiest moments in your life and – as I mentioned – the cost of this charitable behaviour can sometimes be nothing, as far as the dollar value goes. In this sense then, money is not an issue to achieving happiness.

Having said that, it is very easy for me to then state that people living on the bare minimum could be happy, but this is not always the case. Happiness to you could be – and probably is – very different to my version of happiness, although, we’re likely to have something in common. Besides giving, there is one other common state of being that is likely to define happiness in most people, and that is the feeling of being content at that exact moment. For a well-off person who has no need to worry about money, contentment may come in the form of giving, helping others, achieving goals or pursuing activities that make them happy. A person who has almost nothing may find that these same actions cause contentment, but they may have financial barriers to achieving them. Removal of these financial barriers would obviously make the act of achieving contentment a whole lot easier.

Regardless of how much of a budgeting superstar you are or how little you can live on, there is one issue that affects every person – bills! For people that have the money to cover them, bills become just a part of life and – at worst – something to grumble about. For a person with financial struggles, bills can become a depressing obstacle to everyday life. For some, their mounting pile of bills is all they can think about and – in these instances – it can be very difficult to see the ’flowers’ for the trees. This is where we at EWL can really help. We can help you tackle these bills in a manner that will leave you with enough left over to pursue happiness and contentment.

So, as you can see, money doesn’t automatically cause happiness, but not having money does not automatically mean you can’t achieve happiness; however, being content tends to be the ultimate state of being and contentment generally requires being free of financial strain. Contact us to discover how to achieve this.

]]>Are you Able to Reach your Goals with your Current Lifestyle?http://ewl.com.au/able-reach-goals-current-lifestyle/
Mon, 17 Nov 2014 03:43:28 +0000http://ewl.com.au/?p=2809When it comes to goal setting, there are many interesting schools of thought on the topic of how best to achieve what you want. The two foremost are complete opposites in theory; • Set goals as high as you possibly can (such as, ‘I will make $40 million in a year’) • Set reachable goals ...

]]>When it comes to goal setting, there are many interesting schools of thought on the topic of how best to achieve what you want. The two foremost are complete opposites in theory;

• Set goals as high as you possibly can (such as, ‘I will make $40 million in a year’)

• Set reachable goals (I will make a comfortable living this year).

The debate for each has its own merits, although one obviously stands out as the more reasonable/achievable; however, don’t let me persuade you from reaching for the stars! Statistically speaking though, common goals are rarely met. This seems to be because the focus shifts and memories about why the goal was set in the first place are lost. Not surprisingly, most goals are set on New Year Eve, and this is a mistake as the ‘novelty’ of the goals wears off and excitement quickly diminishes. I’m sure most people reading this would have experienced this for themselves at some point.

Regardless of what the statistics say regarding goal setting, the task of this article is to get you to ask yourself the question ‘are you able to reach your goals with your current lifestyle?’. This question is designed to get you thinking about whether your spending habits are getting in the way of your set goals. Let us say you’re looking to lose 20 pounds; however, you can’t afford the gym membership because you have two family cars running simultaneously – and everyone knows about petrol prices! Do you need two cars?

Write down a list of things that you could do without. They could be items like:

Second car

Heating pool throughout winter

Regularly eating out

Takeaway coffees and lunches

Buying newspapers and magazines

Buying extra groceries because you’ve let food go bad

Really, the potential list is endless and many people have multiple superfluous expenses that they could certainly do without. While working out what money is spent on items that are important to you and those that aren’t, you might say ‘well, there’s nothing that I’m spending excess money on’, but I can almost guarantee that when you scrutinise your spending thoroughly, you will find some!

It is not about living like a pauper just to meet a few goals; it is about making sure the things that are important in your life have a chance to flourish and the things that aren’t get the chop!

]]>Less Now, More Later – Why it’s worth Investinghttp://ewl.com.au/less-now-later-worth-investing/
Wed, 12 Nov 2014 01:54:08 +0000http://ewl.com.au/?p=2804Choosing the right investment for your future can present you with a minefield of possibilities, each one with potential ups and hopefully no downs; however, a full discussion on different investing options can be left for a later date. Today, we’ll talk about the fact that – with investing – time = value. If I ...

]]>Choosing the right investment for your future can present you with a minefield of possibilities, each one with potential ups and hopefully no downs; however, a full discussion on different investing options can be left for a later date. Today, we’ll talk about the fact that – with investing – time = value. If I said to you “here, have $10,000 dollars”, then – just as you’re about to take it – I say, “Wait! You can have $10,000 now, or – if you simply let me keep it for three years, you can instead have $15,000 – no extra work involved” what would you say? The majority of people find this question somewhat tricky because $10,000 today could really help most of us, but $15,000 in three years is no doubt tempting as well.

This question somewhat defines the word investment (although, it is not every day that someone offers you such a gift!); however, the principle is the same – money now or more money later. As they say, hindsight is 20/20 and lucky for you, there have been millions of investment – good and bad – that have taken place before. This means you are giving precious hindsight, allowing you to avoid the mistakes others have made. Think of it this way; investing now is investing in your future. Unless you plan to abandon society and live ‘off the grid’, then money in your future is a necessity, and a well thought out investment can give you that.

For those with smaller incomes, making an investment work does involve sacrifice and patience; primarily, sustaining your bill payments while taking any extra funds out of the family’s circulation. If you can do this though – even if it means seriously constricting your current lifestyle – trust me, it’s worthwhile! A good example of this is home ownership. Everyone strives for the safety of owning his or her own home, and that is an investment in your future.

One of the greatest and most successful investors, Warren Buffett, once stated, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”. This quote defines the mindset of why investing in your future is a necessity. Gone are the days where you can get by, living day to day. Investing grants you and your family a better future, so there’s no better time to shake the mindset of ‘spend TODAY – tomorrow will work itself out!’.

]]>Help me with my Debt! – Help for Young Peoplehttp://ewl.com.au/help-debt-help-young-people/
Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:32:48 +0000http://ewl.com.au/?p=2785Being young almost predisposes you to debt. Many young people earn less than their older counterparts do, we have high expenses in the form of university costs, rental costs and costs associated with setting up our independent lives. We often have banks chucking credit cards in our direction, and finance for things (like cars) seems ...

]]>Being young almost predisposes you to debt. Many young people earn less than their older counterparts do, we have high expenses in the form of university costs, rental costs and costs associated with setting up our independent lives. We often have banks chucking credit cards in our direction, and finance for things (like cars) seems like a great idea, when we have our whole lives to pay them off! We know we don’t NEED to go out partying on the weekends, or to buy that new iPhone, handbag and personalised number plates, but c’mon – you only live once, right? It’s no wonder that we find ourselves in debt.

So, what do we do when we realise that our debt is out of hand? We could contact the parentals, but really – none of us want to face THAT lecture! We can try to obtain more credit, in order to pay off our current credit, then get more credit to pay off that credit when it’s time to pay it back, and so on… Ok, that’s probably not the greatest solution and will almost definitely cause more trouble in the long run. Thankfully, there are debt reduction services that deal with the financial problems that young people face, such as EWL Financial Planning!

EWL Financial Planners are able to offer solutions for young people experiencing the financial stress of living with unmanageable debt. It doesn’t matter whether the debts are from single or multiple creditors, or whether it’s debt consolidation, credit card debt negotiation, budgeting or expense planning you’re after, EWL can have you back on the track to financial happiness, fast. Some of the solutions EWL offer include:

Debt prioritisation – which helps you determine which of your loans have the highest interest rates, allowing you to pay these off quicker, freeing up your cash flow over time.

As you reduce your debts, you’ll find that you have an increase in financial flexibility, which opens you up to the possibility of investing your hard-earned cash in order to increase your wealth. No more living week-to-week and maybe – just maybe – you’ll be able to justify buying that occasional pair of awesome shoes you’ve had your eye on!

]]>Financial Advice for Young Peoplehttp://ewl.com.au/financial-advice-young-people/
Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:29:59 +0000http://ewl.com.au/?p=2781Let me introduce you to two couples, now in their mid-thirties. Dave and Carla have two primary school-aged children, one car and own their own home. Dave works as a self-employed electrician and earns around $65,000 per annum, while Carla earns only around $12,000 per annum from making and selling homemade jewellery at local markets ...

Let me introduce you to two couples, now in their mid-thirties. Dave and Carla have two primary school-aged children, one car and own their own home. Dave works as a self-employed electrician and earns around $65,000 per annum, while Carla earns only around $12,000 per annum from making and selling homemade jewellery at local markets on the weekends.

Dan and Mel also have two primary school-aged children, as well as two cars, a motorbike and rent their home. Dan earns about $60,000 per annum as an automotive salesperson and Mel earns about the same as a customer service officer at a call centre.

Dave and Carla are living comfortably and have almost no financial stress, whereas Dan and Mel – who have a significantly larger combined income – are struggling with daily financial stress, avoiding calls from debt collectors and have been rejected multiple times for a home loan, despite both having had long-term employment. How is this possible? Why does one couple live so comfortably, while the other – with almost double the income – struggle so much? Simple – Dave and Carla had a good financial plan in place when they were younger, whereas Dan and Mel didn’t.

Dan and Mel have both worked hard since their early 20’s, but have always lived week-to-week. They have been able to buy the latest mod cons, such as smart phones, tablets, fancy cars, big-screen TV’s and the latest, greatest toys for their kids; however, at least once every couple of weeks, they find themselves eating baked beans on toast for dinner and ringing all of their utility providers to ask for extensions on their bills, due to being short of money. They have also defaulted on many recent bills and are both ex-bankrupt, due to getting into financial trouble in their mid-20’s. Although now discharged, this bankruptcy means that neither Dan nor Mel have been able to apply for a home loan. Dan and Mel feel as though they are never going to reach their goal of home ownership, and this adds extra stress to their lives.

In comparison, during their early 20’s, Dave and Carla consulted with a financial planner, who helped them to identify their life goals (primarily to own their own home and save for their children’s future private schooling) and showed them how to work with their money and lifestyle choices in order to reach these goals. They did have to make a few sacrifices to begin with, but these sacrifices soon became second nature and – as the years wore on – their ever-growing financial security allowed them to budget in quite a few luxuries, which made the sacrifices worthwhile. In their late 20’s, Dave and Carla realised their dream of purchasing their own home – much earlier than either of them imagined – and even had about 40% of the deposit saved up in advance! They still need to make the occasional sacrifice – such as only owning one car between them – but they have again saved enough money to be able to indulge in an overseas family holiday this year. Dave, Carla and their children are extremely happy, their future is bright and they credit this happiness with making the choice to see a financial planner when they were young.

In this rush of a world, young people – with their fast-paced careers and demanding family lives – hardly have time to plan their own dinner, let alone a financial strategy designed to take them comfortably into the future. Thankfully, EWL make financial planning a breeze! We help you to identify and quantify your financial goals, then work with you to put sensible, tailored strategies in place to help you reach them.

We believe that ‘Wealth is not a measure of how much money you earn; it is a measure of how much money your money earns’, so we work with you to maximise the worth of every cent that you earn. We act as your personal financial trainer – guiding, motivating, advising and inspiring you to achieve your goals sooner and more effectively – not just now, but long into the future.

Here at EWL Financial Planning, we believe that the time to get smart with money is during your younger years, but it’s never too late to get a good grip on your finances, so contact us today for a free initial consultation with no obligation and discover how to live like Dave and Carla!